APLH - Award for Personal Licence Holders Unauthorised Licensable Activities Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A community group organises a ticketed event in a village hall, selling wine and beer to raise funds. They do not hold a premises licence and have not obtained a Temporary Event Notice (TEN). What is the potential maximum penalty for this offence?
- A written warning from the Licensing Authority and a requirement to apply for a TEN retrospectively.
- A fixed penalty notice of £1,000.
- An unlimited fine and/or up to 6 months imprisonment. (Correct answer)
- A fine of up to £5,000 and a ban on future events for one year.
Correct answer: An unlimited fine and/or up to 6 months imprisonment.
Under Section 136 of the Licensing Act 2003, carrying on a licensable activity (such as the sale of alcohol) without an appropriate authorisation is a criminal offence. The maximum penalty is an unlimited fine, up to 6 months in prison, or both.
Question 2: Which of the following scenarios constitutes carrying on an unauthorised licensable activity?
- A pub with a premises licence sells alcohol one hour after its permitted hours have ended. (Correct answer)
- A personal licence holder sells alcohol at a licensed premises where they are not the DPS.
- A members' club provides free tea and coffee to guests after 11 pm.
- A restaurant plays pre-recorded background music at a low volume during opening hours.
Correct answer: A pub with a premises licence sells alcohol one hour after its permitted hours have ended.
Carrying on a licensable activity otherwise than in accordance with an authorisation is an offence under Section 136. A premises licence authorises activities within specific hours; selling alcohol outside of these hours means the activity is not in accordance with the authorisation and is therefore an offence.
Question 3: The owner of a takeaway that does not have a premises licence for late night refreshment decides to sell hot food to customers at 1:00 am. What specific offence under the Licensing Act 2003 have they committed?
- Breach of the public nuisance objective.
- Unauthorised carrying on of a licensable activity. (Correct answer)
- Failure to employ a personal licence holder.
- Selling food without a food hygiene certificate.
Correct answer: Unauthorised carrying on of a licensable activity.
The provision of hot food or hot drink to the public between 11:00 pm and 5:00 am is a licensable activity known as 'late night refreshment'. Carrying this on without a premises licence or a TEN is an offence under Section 136 of the Licensing Act 2003.
Question 4: A personal licence holder is working at a pub when its premises licence is suspended by the Licensing Authority. The personal licence holder decides to sell alcohol anyway, believing their own licence permits it. Which statement is correct?
- They are not committing an offence, as their personal licence authorises the sale.
- They are only committing a civil offence, not a criminal one.
- The offence is committed by the premises licence holder only, not the individual seller.
- They are committing the offence of carrying on an unauthorised licensable activity. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: They are committing the offence of carrying on an unauthorised licensable activity.
A personal licence authorises an individual to sell alcohol, but only from a premises that has a valid premises licence or other authorisation. If the premises licence is suspended, any sale of alcohol from that premises is an unauthorised licensable activity. The person making the sale is committing an offence under Section 136 of the Licensing Act 2003.
Question 5: Under the Licensing Act 2003, which of the following could be a valid legal defence for a person charged with carrying on an unauthorised licensable activity under section 136(1)(a)?
- They were unaware that the activity required a licence.
- The activity was for a registered charity.
- They had submitted a licence application which was still being processed.
- They took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the offence. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: They took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the offence.
The Licensing Act 2003 provides a statutory defence of 'due diligence'. If the person charged can prove that the offence was due to a mistake, reliance on information given to them, the act of another person, or another cause beyond their control, AND that they took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence, they may have a valid defence.
Question 6: A shop displays bottles of spirits for sale on its shelves with price tags, but its premises licence only permits the sale of alcohol until 10:00 pm. A customer attempts to buy a bottle at 10:30 pm but is refused by the staff. Which offence has still been committed?
- Attempting to sell alcohol to a person who is drunk.
- No offence has been committed as no sale took place.
- Exposing alcohol for unauthorised sale. (Correct answer)
- Allowing disorderly conduct on the premises.
Correct answer: Exposing alcohol for unauthorised sale.
Under Section 137 of the Licensing Act 2003, it is an offence to expose alcohol for sale by retail in circumstances where the sale would be an unauthorised licensable activity. By displaying the priced alcohol after the permitted hours, the shop is committing this offence, regardless of whether a sale is actually completed.
APLH - Award for Personal Licence Holders Unauthorised Licensable Activities Questions and Answers
A community group organises a ticketed event in a village hall, selling wine and beer to raise funds.
They do not hold a premises licence and have not obtained a Temporary Event Notice (TEN).
What is the potential maximum penalty for this offence?